Glow and weak chemiluminescence, emitted from the multiple and slow reaction pathways between phenylglyoxal derivatives and guanine, has been reported since early 1990's. The disadvantages of the chemiluminescence made it difficult to apply as a detection method capable of sensing trace levels of analytes.
Rapid and strong chemiluminescence emitted from the non-stop reaction pathway of phenylglyoxal derivatives and guanine under neutral or basic condition was observed. Based on the advantages of the chemiluminescence, various biosensors capable of quantifying trace levels of analytes were developed.